Home
by Rae325
Summary: A look at Charlotte as a wife, mother, doctor, and survivor.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Mase," Charlotte says, putting her briefcase down and sitting at the table next to her son.

Mason looks up from his homework. "Hi Momma. I got a hundred on my English test," he tells her excitedly, pulling out a paper with a gold star sticker on it.

"Good job!" Charlotte tells him looking over the test. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to pick you up after school."

"It's ok. Dad said you had an emergency at work."

"Yeah. Where is your dad?" Charlotte asks as she lays the exam back on the neat stack of papers.

"He went to take a shower… Momma?" Mason asks uneasily

"Yeah?"

"Is Dad ok? He seems really worried." Charlotte's heart aches, because yes Cooper is worried – about her.

"He's ok, sweetie," Charlotte reassures Mason with a smile. He's such a sweet, perceptive kid. "I'm going to go say hello to your dad. I'll be back in a few minutes, ok?"

"I'll be here with my piles of homework."

Charlotte chuckles and asks, "How much more do you have?"

"Math, spelling, and I need to study for my history test," Mason rattles off. "Could you help me with that later?"

"Of course. How about you finish up the rest of your homework and we can study after dinner."

"Ok," Mason agrees.

"Sounds like a plan," Charlotte says getting up to find Cooper. "I'll be back soon. Think about what you want for dinner."

* * *

Charlotte walks into her bedroom to find Cooper out of the shower and pulling on a pair of jeans. Cooper is so happy to see his wife walk in. He knows she's strong, but unexpectedly taking care of a patient who had been raped has to have been hard.

Charlotte and Cooper had been on their way out of the office to pick up Mason when they'd seen one of Violet's patients sobbing in the waiting room. Charlotte had asked if the patient wanted sit down in Charlotte's office for a while to calm down. It had turned out that the patient had revealed to Violet mid-session that she'd been raped a month ago, and Violet had given her a guilt trip speech, that sounded from her patient's account of it, much like the one Violet had used on Charlotte. The patient had connected with Charlotte, and Charlotte had asked Cooper to go pick up Mason so she could stay with the patient and try to encourage her to have Addison take a look at her.

"Hey," Cooper says with a smile. Charlotte walks over to Cooper and wraps her arms around him. She's grateful everyday that she has Cooper. Her afternoon had been difficult. Charlotte had held this woman's hand while Addison had done a pelvic, trying not to think about when she'd been the one on the table, trying to ignore the way Addison kept looking at her.

Charlotte had left the office feeling vulnerable and emotional and wanting nothing more than to see her husband. Even when things are hard, even when she's hurting, Charlotte knows she can find peace in his arms. The feeling of safety and contentment that she's become used to with Cooper is something she'd never known before.

Charlotte takes a moment to feel loved and at home in his arms before pulling back slightly to look at Cooper and smile. He's worried, she knows, and she wants to soothe his fears. Because, really, she is ok. She's glad she was able to be there for the patient earlier, and now that Charlotte's home with her family, the sense of unease that the day had stirred in her is fading. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Coop," she tells him, bringing her hand up to caress the stubble on his cheek.

Cover blown, Cooper asks, "Are you ok?"

"I am," Charlotte says, looking Cooper in the eyes and smiling. Cooper doesn't worry anymore that Charlotte will hide her feelings from him. When things are hard they cling to each other. When Charlotte's hurting, Cooper knows that she wants to be close to him. And he loves that he gets to see her like this: without barriers, open, emotional – his.

"Have you talked to Violet?" Charlotte asks a minute later.

"No, why?"

"She could probably use a friend to check on her. Her patient slapped her when she tried to apologize."

"I'll call her in a minute," Cooper tells his wife, hugging her tighter to him.

* * *

Cooper's on the phone with Violet. Charlotte can hear Violet freaking out from across the room where Charlotte is changing her clothes.

Now happily clad in yoga pants and a t-shirt, Charlotte walks over to Cooper to give him a kiss before heading back to hang out with Mason. Charlotte leans down and places a kiss on Cooper's head, her hand caressing his neck a moment. When Charlotte starts to walk away, Cooper grabs her hand and pulls her onto his lap. Charlotte wraps her arms around her husband, and he lays his head against her chest. Charlotte presses her lips to Cooper's forehead again, as he listens to the soothing rhythm of her heartbeat.

"Is Violet ok?" Charlotte asks when Cooper hangs up the phone.

"Not really, but Pete just got there, so…" Cooper trails off, losing himself in the lazy way Charlotte is running her fingers through his hair.

"I think you're amazing, Charlotte," he tells her, looking her square in the eye. "What you did today—"

"Coop," Charlotte cuts him off. She did what needed to be done. That's all.

"Don't argue with me. I'm going to think you're strong and selfless whether you argue with me or not. So don't."

Charlotte shakes her head and smiles at her husband. "You ready to help me start dinner?" she asks. Cooper can't believe how much he loves this woman. He would protest moving at all – would insist on spending the whole night holding her – if they didn't have a child in the kitchen who would start getting very grumpy if they didn't feed him soon.

* * *

It felt like a cookie night. Some nights just require desert, and this was one of those nights. "Do you want one now or do you want to wait for them to cool?" Cooper asks Mason, as Cooper pulls a tray of snickerdoodles out of the oven.

"What do you think?" Mason tells his dad, like Cooper asked the most ridiculous question Mason has ever heard.

"Right. Dumb question," Cooper says, as he puts cookies on three plates.

"You two want milk?" Charlotte asks, grabbing three glasses from the cupboard, knowing the answer.

"Can I have caramel sauce too?" Mason asks.

"For you cookie?" Charlotte asks, scrunching up her nose. She still can't understand how Cooper and Mason like things that sweet.

"Caramel is good on everything," Mason insists.

Cooper walks up behind her. "I can think of something it would be particularly good on," he tells her suggestively.

"Cooper!" Charlotte scolds, feigning indignation at his comment while Mason is in the room. She hands him the glass of milk with a shake of her head that lets Cooper know that Charlotte finds the goofy, sexy remarks completely adorable.

Charlotte walks over to the table where Mason is sitting with his cookie, waiting. "Here is your milk," she says putting the glass in front of him. "And here," she puts the caramel jar down, "is some sugar to put on top of your sugar."

"Thanks," Mason says, making quick work of smearing caramel all over his cookie. He takes a bite – delicious. "You should try it Momma," Mason insists.

Cooper's busy spreading caramel on his cookie too. "This is actually really good," he tells his wife. "Just take a bite Char," he insists, holding his cookie out towards her.

Charlotte tries the sugary, sticky mess. She has to admit that it is pretty delicious. _What the hell?_ She grabs the knife and spreads caramel all over her cookie. "Told you so," Mason says, pleased with himself. Charlotte just eats her cookie and thinks that she can't imagine a better end to a tough day than having a sugar overload with her two favorite boys.


	2. Chapter 2

_When I wrote the first chapter of this story, I intended for it to be a one-shot. But I recently re-watched the season 4 finale where Charlotte treats a rape victim, and was interested in exploring the topic a little more. This chapter is just a little slice of life story focusing on Charlotte as a wife, doctor, and survivor. I would love to know what you think of the story!_

* * *

It's a good thing that neither Charlotte nor Cooper had early patients because getting out of the house this morning had been a disaster. They had stayed up late the night before after Mason had talked them into watching _Harry Potter_. Charlotte and Cooper had managed to sleep through their alarm – either that or Cooper hadn't set it properly last night – the issue is still being disputed. They had needed to drive Mason to school after he missed the bus, and are now finally arriving at the office at 9:30.

"Why do you two look like you just ran a marathon?" Sheldon asks as Cooper and Charlotte walk into the kitchen.

"Rough morning," Cooper says, immediately pulling a mug down from the kitchen cabinet and filling it with coffee. Charlotte reaches into her bag, removes her travel mug, and pours coffee for herself as well.

"Trouble getting out of bed?" Amelia says with a smirk.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," Charlotte tells her friend. "We all overslept, and then Mason missed the bus. Had to drive him."

"Right," Amelia says, winking at her friend. Charlotte just shakes her head at Amelia, too tired to engage in a battle of wits.

Addison walks into the kitchen then to grab herself some juice. "Oh Charlotte, I'm glad you're here. Marie needs to come back in," Addison tells Charlotte, referring to Violet's patient from the previous day. "She wanted to know if you could come to her appointment."

"Sure. What time is she coming in?"

"10."

"My first patient isn't until 11, so just find me when Marie gets here," Charlotte tells Addison.

Cooper does not like that his wife is being asked to do something that's difficult for her again. He wishes that Addison had told Marie that Charlotte was booked. Of course if you ask Charlotte, she will offer to go to the appointment. Cooper knows that Charlotte would be furious at him for thinking that she can't handle this or that someone else should have made this decision for her. But Charlotte is Cooper's wife, and he can't help but want to protect her and keep her from pain.

Cooper puts his hand on Charlotte's back and rubs gentle circles. It's a subtle gesture she knows, but part of Charlotte still doesn't like having her vulnerability exposed like this in front of her colleagues. Most of them had seen her the night she was raped and many of them knew about her struggles after that awful day. Charlotte doesn't like giving them a reason to think of her in that way again.

Luckily for Charlotte though, most of the attention in the room has focused on Violet. Marie had slapped Violet rather publically the day before. "Maybe I should try talking to her again," Violet suggests. The room gets silent and uncomfortable.

_Screw it_, Charlotte thinks. She'll say what everyone is thinking. "You want to do that for the patient or for yourself?" Someone needs to advocate for the patient.

"She needs a therapist, Charlotte," Violet tells her.

"I can try to talk to her about it, but maybe she would feel more comfortable with a different shrink," Charlotte tells Violet.

"I can see her if she wants," Sheldon offers.

Charlotte nods then tells Violet, "Look, I'm not saying you aren't good at your job. I'm just suggesting that in this particular case, the patient might benefit from talking to someone new. That has nothing to do with your skills."

"You're right," Violet agrees, feeling a bit uncomfortable. _Did Charlotte, a woman who everyone used to mock for her lack of empathy, just set Violet straight on patient care?_

"Cooper," Addison says, wanting to change the subject and break the tension, "I need to bring Henry in to see you. Can we schedule an appointment?"

"Sure," Cooper says, begrudgingly walking away from his wife and following Addison out of the room. He's probably being overprotective, but nothing brings that out in Cooper like being reminded of Charlotte's rape. _He hadn't protected her then, and there is no way in hell he will let her down again_.

Cooper finds Charlotte five minutes later when he's done scheduling Henry's appointment. Charlotte is sitting at her desk catching up on paperwork when Cooper walks into her office.

"Hey," Cooper says, walking in and sitting down on Charlotte's couch.

"What's up Coop?" Charlotte asks. She has a huge stack of paperwork that she wants to make a dent in this morning.

"I just thought you might want some company."

"You checking up on me?" Charlotte asks with a smile. A few years ago it would have pissed her off; she would have seen this as Cooper accusing her of not being strong enough to handle working with a rape victim. But now it doesn't feel like weakness to Charlotte to be comforted by her husband, to want to be close to him, to _need_ him.

Cooper looks a little guilty. _She's caught him_. But Charlotte surprises Cooper a little by telling him "Thanks," and walking over to the couch to sit next to him. Charlotte picks up her husband's arm and wraps it around her shoulders. She lets him hold her for a minute before saying, "Now I need you to go so I can get some work done."

"I have patients booked most of the morning, but if you need anything you'll come find me, right?" Cooper checks.

"I will," Charlotte tells her husband with a smile.

"I mean it Charlotte."

"How often do I say things just to humor you?" Charlotte asks, raising an eyebrow at her husband.

"Point taken," Cooper tells his wife before leaning over and giving her a kiss.

"Good. Now go. You have patients and I have charting." Charlotte stands. Cooper reaches his hand out so that she can help pull him off the couch. Charlotte walks Cooper to the door and gives him a little tap on the behind as he leaves.

Charlotte sees that Marie is already in the waiting room. The paperwork will have to wait. Charlotte walks over to Marie and greets her warmly.

"Hi Dr. King."

"Dr. Montgomery is with a patient, but if you want to come into my office and talk, I'm free."

Marie nods and stands. Charlotte watches the way Marie looks uncomfortable in her skin, the way Marie cringes when Charlotte extends an arm to indicate the way to her office. Charlotte remembers the feeling of her skin crawling; of being out of control of the way her body reacted.

Charlotte closes her office door behind her and Marie. They sit down on the sofas, and Marie thanks Charlotte for going to her appointment.

"Of course," Charlotte replies.

"Dr. Montgomery said that I needed to come back to get antibiotics because my chlamydia test came back positive," Marie says, starting to tear up.

Charlotte nods. "You'll take the antibiotics for a week and it will clear everything up."

Marie has tears running down her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she tells Charlotte. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Nothing is wrong with you," Charlotte starts, before Marie cuts her off.

"It was ten minutes. I can't be this upset over ten minutes that happened to me a month ago."

Charlotte takes a deep breath. Sharing her feelings has never been easy for Charlotte, and talking about being raped to a stranger feels extremely uncomfortable. NA had given Charlotte a strong belief that it was her responsibility as a recovering addict to help others on their journeys. She's developed a similar sense of responsibility as a rape survivor, and Charlotte feels like she can't keep quiet if letting someone hear her story can help them. Charlotte and Violet may not be friends, but Charlotte will always be grateful to Violet for sharing her story. It had helped Charlotte to know that it was possible to get through the aftermath; it had given her some hope during an incredibly dark time.

"I get trying to pretend that nothing happened or that it won't change anything. I didn't tell anyone that I'd been raped, either."

"You didn't?"

"No, but the truth is Marie, that no matter who you tell or don't tell, what happened to you is going to affect you. Getting through this is going to be hard and painful, and you can't go around that."

"Maybe Dr. Turner was right." Charlotte gives Marie a questioning look, and Marie explains, "She told me it was ok to acknowledge that I was damaged, that everyone is damaged."

"I don't think of myself that way," Charlotte tells Marie. "Being a survivor is a part of who I am now, but I'm not damaged, I'm not worth less than I was before, and I'm definitely not less happy than I was before. I'm never going to forget what happened to me, but I've been able to move past the pain and the shame and the guilt. It took a lot of work to get there, and I know that sucks and feels unfair. But it's worth it, because you absolutely can have a full life. I know it might be hard to believe right now, but you can get past this."

"Does your husband know what happened to you?" Marie asks, seeing that Charlotte is wearing a wedding ring.

"He does," Charlotte confirms. "We were engaged when I was raped, and I didn't want him to know. I was afraid that he would look at me differently and that it would change things between us."

"Did it?" Marie asks. She's been avoiding telling her boyfriend. She doesn't want him to see her differently, or worse, doesn't want him to leave her.

"It did," Charlotte says. "It made us stronger as a couple. I won't tell you it was easy for us. He did look at me differently at first, and I hated it. We struggled to talk about the rape, but we got there eventually. Nothing about getting through the aftermath my rape was easy for either of us, but we did it together and that brought us closer."

"I don't know if my boyfriend would stay if I tell him," Marie admits.

"You need someone to help you through this, Marie. I'm happy to hold your hand at as many appointments as you want, but you need someone in your life that can support you. I tried to do it alone, and…" Charlotte shakes her head. She isn't sure where she would be if Cooper hadn't found out. "You deserve to have someone be there for you."

Marie takes a minute to consider this. "Ok," she says, looking down at her hands. "I'm going to call my boyfriend and have him come over here. I think I'd rather tell him here."

Charlotte understands wanting to be somewhere safe in case the ground falls out from under your feet yet again. "Why don't I step outside and let you call him, and I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Ok," Marie says. Charlotte smiles softly at Marie before leaving the room.

Charlotte walks by Cooper's office to check if he's with a patient and finds her husband sitting at his desk with the door open. Charlotte walks in and closes the door behind her. "Hey," Cooper says, as Charlotte marches over to him rather purposefully. Charlotte turns Cooper's chair around and sits down on his lap, straddling him. Charlotte kisses Cooper deeply, before eventually pulling back, placing a gentle peck on Cooper's nose, and smiling at him.

"What was that for?" Cooper asks his wife, before clarifying, "Not that I'm complaining."

"Just feeling grateful for you Coop." Charlotte wraps her arms around her husband's neck. Cooper's hands settle on Charlotte's back, and she lets herself sit and enjoy the feel of being in his arms for a minute. "I've got to get back," Charlotte tells Cooper, waving an arm vaguely in the direction of her office.

"You'll come find me when you're done?" Cooper checks.

"Mmhmm," Charlotte agrees. Cooper leans forward and captures her lips again for a quick kiss. Charlotte reluctantly stands up and heads back to her office.


	3. Chapter 3

Charlotte had listened to every awful detail. She had sat and listened as Marie described the brutal details of her rape. Charlotte had done her best to just keep breathing as she sat on the couch with Sheldon and listened to a woman detail for her boyfriend what it was like to be violated.

Marie had asked Charlotte to stay, even after Charlotte had convinced her that it might help to have a therapist in the room to facilitate the discussion with Marie's boyfriend. And there's no way that Charlotte was going to refuse. Even when Marie started talking, and Charlotte could feel herself going back to that horrible night, could feel Lee McHenry's weight on her and smell the sweat dripping from his body, Charlotte would not let herself leave the room. She had grounded herself - looked around, looked at Sheldon, reminded herself of where she was, reminded herself that she was ok - and kept listening.

Charlotte remembers what it felt like to tell Addison just a few details of her rape, and to see Addison cry, stumble over her words, and leave the room. Charlotte is not going to do that to Marie. The last thing that Charlotte wants to convey to a survivor is the idea that her experience is unspeakable, that talking about it will hurt others, will alienate them, will leave you all alone. So Charlotte had listened, and only now, when Marie thanks Charlotte and Sheldon, and asks to talk to her boyfriend alone, does Charlotte leave the room.

Charlotte hightails it to the bathroom and locks the door behind her. She needs a minute, just a minute alone to steady herself. The images of her own rape have receded, but the uneasy feeling remains. Charlotte turns the sink on, splashes some cold water on her face, and breathes.

Sheldon knocks on Cooper's door. Cooper looks up, "Hey." Sheldon walks in and closes the door; the whole office doesn't need to hear their conversation. "What's up?"

"You might want to go talk to Charlotte," Sheldon suggests.

Cooper stands up, immediately worried. "What happened?"

"Charlotte and I just listened to Marie - our patient - recount the details of being raped. It was hard to listen to. _I_ found it difficult, so I can't imagine how Charlotte felt."

"Where is she?" Cooper asks.

"Bathroom," Sheldon tells him.

"Thanks Sheldon," Cooper says, clasping his friend on the shoulder and going to find Charlotte.

Cooper knocks on the bathroom door. "Char?"

Charlotte opens the door, and Cooper looks her over. Charlotte gives Cooper a smile that doesn't reach her eyes. "You ok?" Charlotte gives Cooper a look that says _not exactly_. She doesn't want to talk about this in the hallway, so Charlotte starts walking to Cooper's office.

"Do you have a patient now?" Charlotte asks. She'll be fine by herself if he's busy.

"Not for a half hour," Cooper says, wrapping his arm around Charlotte's back as they walk to his office.

Charlotte and Cooper sit down on his couch together. "That was really hard," Charlotte admits.

Cooper looks at his wife and smiles. She is so beautiful. "I am so proud of you." The comment makes Charlotte feel a little silly, like she's a child being patted on the head. But hey, she's kind of proud of herself too. It was harder than she'd hoped, but Charlotte had stayed in that room and done what her patient needed. Charlotte tries to push back against her thoughts that she should be stronger, tries to remind herself that it's natural to still have an occasional flashback with such a strong trigger, that it doesn't make her weak. She handled it, and she tells herself that it makes her strong.

Charlotte wraps her arm around Cooper's shoulder and runs her fingers through his hair. Cooper lets her silently trace patterns on his scalp for a minute before asking, "Is there anything I can do?" He's learned to ask that question when it comes to this. Cooper lets Charlotte lead, because sometimes he just isn't sure what to do for her.

"Tell me something good." She needs to think about something else; needs to get herself back on an even keel before her next patient comes in.

"Um..." Cooper tries to think of what to tell his wife. "My last patient's mother brought him in because he keeps trying to eat his toys." Charlotte raises an eyebrow; it's not exactly the funniest story she's ever heard. "Sorry," Cooper says, kissing his wife's forehead, "You put me on the spot."

Cooper smiles at Charlotte, and even just that helps. The levity, the normalcy, Cooper - it helps. She doesn't feel weighed down by the memories anymore. They come, and yes they hurt, but they pass. Recovery isn't forgetting, Charlotte reminds herself. Hadn't Charlotte just told Marie that? This is recovering; this is moving forward.

She's strong, and she isn't alone.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: This is the last chapter, or perhaps more like a brief epilogue. Thanks to those who read and reviewed. I appreciate your feedback!_

* * *

If Charlotte is still thinking about Marie after work, Cooper can't tell. It's not for lack of attention, because Cooper is watching his wife like a hawk, needing to make sure that she's ok. Truth be told, the day has unsettled Cooper a little. Marie had thanked Charlotte before leaving the practice, and Cooper had watched how her boyfriend stood there looking sick and horrified and completely at a loss for what to do. It's a feeling that Cooper remembers all too clearly.

Everything remains close to the surface for Cooper that evening: the memory of Charlotte brutalized, of her flinching from his touch, of her struggling to piece her life back together. So he's extra grateful when Charlotte climbs into bed after they've gotten Mason to sleep and wastes no time in removing Cooper's clothes. He's grateful because he knows how much work it took for Charlotte to be comfortable having sex again. He's grateful because the three months that she hadn't been able to make love to Cooper are at the forefront of his mind tonight. He's grateful because she's _Charlotte_, and he has been reminded that not everyone comes through what she did the same person, not everyone comes through it whole and happy and amazing.

And god, she is amazing. It's all Cooper can think as he watches his wife on top of him, watches her breasts bouncing, her long hair stuck to her sweaty back, her eyes blazing with how much she wants him. He's a lucky man.

Charlotte is caught up in how much she's enjoying herself. She's moaning loudly, and Cooper loves that sound, thinks it's the sexiest noise he's every heard. But, there's a kid sleeping down the hall, and the least sexy thing Cooper can imagine is if he and Charlotte were interrupted by their son knocking at the door and asking what all the noise is. "Shhh," Cooper tells Charlotte, through panting breaths, "You're going to wake Mason. You've gotta keep it down a little."

"Make me," Charlotte teases. Her eyes are shining mischievously as she leans down and bites at Cooper's lower lip. But when she sits back up, Charlotte sees the look on her husband's face and knows exactly where his mind has gone. The image of someone covering her mouth, holding her down. Cooper watches Charlotte's face soften, as she realizes what he's thinking about, and he curses himself for ruining the moment.

Charlotte leans down again so that her body is flush against her husband's. She caresses his cheek with one hand, the other tangling itself in Cooper's hair. She's looking at him with so much love, and Cooper is struck again by just how damn lucky he is. He feels a few tears wind their way down his cheeks. He's just so overcome with how much he loves Charlotte, by how close he feels to her.

Charlotte kisses Cooper's cheeks, tracing the tear tracks with her mouth. He smiles at her and reaches his mouth up to capture Charlotte's lips. Their kiss is soft and slow and caring, and it feels like they are both trying the put into it just how much they love each other, how much it means to have each other. Cooper wraps his arms around Charlotte and holds her tightly against him. They stay that way until the need for release becomes too much and they begin moving their bodies in unison once again.


End file.
